


Flustered

by Trash9



Category: GOT7
Genre: (yeah they're pretty bad), Alternate Universe - College/University, Bad Pickup Lines, Embarrassment, I'm really sorry about the tea pun, M/M, also??? Including like 4 BTS members but not mark, even more pickup lines, filming your friends so you can laugh at them later, flower paintings, how do I tag this?, learning Thai, male body part oriented games, purple leather, revealing your inner self with your cork board collage, wearing a white shirt to a coffee date, yelling in libraries
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-03-18
Updated: 2017-05-02
Packaged: 2018-10-07 07:23:06
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 5,934
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10355142
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Trash9/pseuds/Trash9
Summary: Yugyeom, a quiet and shy library assistant, just wants to keep the peace. BamBam, a quirky design student, knows too many pickup lines. They exchange numbers and it feels like the world turned upside down.





	1. Part 1 - Libraries

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Eny](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Eny/gifts).



Yugyeom knew they would be trouble the moment they walked in. Nothing was reassuring about three guys walking into a library, and Yugyeom’s library assistant sense had been tingling since he spotted them. So, when the tallest and scariest looking of them screamed _penis_ at a not-so-library-appropriate volume, Yugyeom had to do something. Unfortunately, he lacked the confidence to say something and, well, the blond one was cute. Incredibly cute. Cute enough that Yugyeom couldn’t bring himself to ruin their fun.

  
That’s the exact problem: he’d noticed this blond kid come into the library every Wednesday and study for an hour since the beginning of the school year. Every once and a while, he’d bring a friend. Usually, though, it was just the blond, his wild fashion sense, and stack of books sitting in the middle of the library. After a while, Yugyeom had begun to crush on the quiet, studying blond and it pained him.

  
Yugyeom retreated back to the safety of the sorting room. In there was senior library assistant Park Jinyoung, staring at a cart of books with a clipboard in hand. “Have you taken care of the problem, Yugyeom?” He asked, with out even looking from the books. Yugyeom let a single bone-rattling scream of _penis_ answer for him. “Goddammit. Do I have to do it myself?” Jinyoung said, slamming the clipboard on top of the books. He walked over to open the door, a threatening motion to Yugyeom’s job.

  
"No! No! I got it!“ Yugyeom whined. He took two huge steps and took the door handle. He froze, looking at the blond. His cheeks were hot. His heart was pounding.

  
"Hmm.” Jinyoung smiled his sinister cat smile. Yugyeom was going to die. “So you got it?”

  
“YES!” Yugyeom tugged the door all the way open and disappeared into the shelves. He took two deep breaths. Then four. Then two again. All he had to do was to tell the blond and his dummy friends to shut up. It was fine. Yugyeom could rebound from it. He passed through the nonfiction section and waltzed over to their table, unnoticed by the threesome. The exact moment he opened his mouth all of his guts seemed to do a backflip. “Hi.” He said, awkwardly. He wanted to die. “Umm.” He was dead. “You all need to stop. It’s disrupting other library guests."

  
All three of them got quiet. The tall one avoided eye contact. The otter-looking one blushed. The blond, though, leaned in and laughed. "Is there really anyone else here to bother?"

  
_Oh_ _shit_.

  
“Um, well,” Yugyeom was trembling and his face was hotter than before. He probably looked like a tomato. _Gosh_ , _that kid was amazing close up. Come on Yugyeom get it together_ , he thought. “It’s library policy to keep at a reasonable volume. Screaming, ahem, _penis_ doesn’t qualify.” He stated, only to receive a couple of giggles. “So we’ll-” He stopped. He couldn’t kick them out; he couldn’t look that bad.

  
“Sorry.“ The scary one said. He held his head down like he had committed the greatest sin ever. He checked his phone and the following silence was one of the most awkward ones Yugyeom would experience. "Well, BamBam, Youngjae and I gotta go. It’s 4:45.”

 _So that was his name_.

  
"Okay guys! See you tomorrow?“ BamBam asked.

  
"Yep!” Youngjae replied, waving. The pair exited and Yugyeom just stood there, watching- not them, BamBam. He wanted to retreat back to the sorting room, to the safety and organization and not awkward silences.

Then, BamBam spoke. "So, are you just going to stand there or?“ He made eye contact with Yugyeom. Yugyeom blinked himself out of his daze.

  
"Uh, I, you-” Yugyeom blushed even harder. His heart was full throttle pounding and words weren’t forming in his head.

  
“We have to kick you out for making such a fuss.” A solid, calm voice came from behind Yugyeom. _Thank the heavens for Park Jinyoung._

BamBam visibly drooped, his lip jutted out in a huge pout. “What?! I need this textbook for my design class and I-"

  
Jinyoung winked at Yugyeom. "I can let you stay if you give this poor kid your number.” He said, cutting BamBam off.

  
The pout transformed into an evil grin. “You wanted my number?” BamBam asked. He cackled, or at least it felt like it, and scrawled it on a sticky note. “Here!” Yugyeom took the note and just stared at it. The entire world was spinning around him and he wouldn’t ever mind. “If you thought I was cute, why didn’t you say something?"

  
Yugyeom was still in shock from the number that he could only mumble, "Um… I… Ah."

  
"It’s okay. I know I’m just stunningly beautiful!” BamBam joked, striking a pose. He giggled at his own joke- his laugh was like really intense inhaling- and it was too cute. Yugyeom really wanted to return to the sorting room. His cheeks were on fire. “It’s okay, you’re the cutest book I’ve ever checked out.” BamBam had a shit eating grin on his face. Yugyeom was beyond flustered.

  
“Ah, thanks, I-"

  
"This is cute.” BamBam leaned in. “Are you a library book?" 

  
"No?"

  
"Because you have fine written all over you."

  
Yugyeom was doing a mental spit take. "I- Okay thank you. I gotta go. You’re, ah.” He turned.

  
“Don’t forget to text me, okay?” BamBam called after him.

  
Yugyeom mentally planned his own funeral, certain that the audacity of this kid would end up killing him. He stepped into the sorting room, took a deep breath, and then he looked over and saw Jinyoung with his phone in his hand, snickering. “You-"

  
"All on camera. Funniest shit I’ve seen in years, my friend.” Jinyoung said, slipping the device back into his pocket. Yup, Yugyeom wanted roses around the lectern.

  
He began to organize one of the return carts, trying to take his mind off the sticky note that was burning a hole in his back pocket. He busied himself with putting the books back, occasionally stealing glances at BamBam. His lip stuck out in focus; his brows were furrowed in confusion. Yugyeom took his time just to observe. Then, he had to help a plethora of other students check out old medical journals and what not. Eventually, the creak of the library’s ancient doors signified that BamBam was leaving. He looked back at Yugyeom and winked. Yugyeom knew he was in for something.

 

* * *

 

  
Yugyeom stared at the screen. He was too afraid, too nervous, too shy to send a message. He wanted to curl into a ball and for his heart to stop making him want things. He had been staring at his phone for hours now and hadn’t a single clue what to say. So, he did what he did best and placed it on his shelf, closed his eyes, and fell asleep.

   
After a morning of classes, it was back to the library for another shift with Jinyoung for hours of monotonous organizing, shelving, cataloging, and checking-out (the boring kind that doesn’t involve staring at cute blonds). Yugyeom trudged in, put on his name tag, and signed the assistant’s schedule.He spent his first hour re-shelving books, then his second organizing nine carts, and his third at the desk.

  
Just as hour four was rolling past, a certain blond strolled in. On a Thursday. Yugyeom’s heart stopped. He retreated to the sorting room, where Jinyoung and the other head assistant, Namjae or something, were chatting away. Jinyoung stuck his hand up, a sinister smile on his face, and said, “Yugyeom, you looked panicked."

  
"I’m not.” Yugyeom replied, turning to sort a cart. “Can one of you run the front desk for awhile?” He needed to calm down and stop his face from turning firetruck red.

  
“I’ll do it.” Jinyoung opened the door and stepped out, leaving Yugyeom and the Nam-something guy alone. Before either of them could blink at each other, Jinyoung was busting through the door. “You’re going out there Kim Yugyeom! You’re going out there!” Yugyeom shot a small glance at Nam-whatever as if to say, “Dear lord please help me.” But, unfortunately, he was getting dragged by the arms out of the sorting room and towards the desk. He wished the invisibility cloak existed. After some struggle, Yugyeom was standing and staring at the cute blond that gave him his number yesterday.

  
"Hi.“ He said.

  
"Hello.” BamBam said back. He was smiling, revealing a top row of pearly whites, and then giggled. “Good thing I brought my library card,” He giggled again, “because I’m checking you out."

  
"Ah.” Yugyeom laughed. “Why do you do this to me?"

  
"You’re cute and you deserve to know that.” BamBam answered. Yugyeom had been blasted into outer space. _Someone really thinks that of me?_ He sat down next to BamBam and examined his textbook.

  
"What are you studying?“ Yugyeom asked. All he could make out was a pattern for a shirt of some sort.

  
"I’m making a leather jacket for class and this book had a good pattern for beginners.” BamBam replied. “It’s a cool dark purple, like here,” He pulled a scrap of fabric from his binder and held it up to Yugyeom’s face. His eyes got huge all the sudden. “Oh my god. Stand up for a second.” He instructed. Yugyeom followed. BamBam looked at him, hand over his mouth and brows scrunched in front like a tailor examining a king. He moved, looking at each of Yugyeom’s sides. “You’re perfect!” He exclaimed, then came back up to face Yugyeom. “Would you model this for me?"

  
Yugyeom’s face was on fire again. "Sure?” His head was nodding but his mind was telling him no. Yugyeom had never been comfortable in the spotlight, so why was he accepting the offer of a near stranger to model a project?

  
“Really?” BamBam was glowing. Happiness seemed to burst through the room. “Okay great. I’m over in the Green Dorms. Building two, floor two, room two. Okay?” He handed Yugyeom a sticky note with the information on it. “Can you come at seven? I need your measurements."

  
"Definitely!” Yugyeom said, voice cracking. He hoped not to sound too excited. His heart was going to explode.

  
BamBam laughed again. “Great!” He started organizing his stuff back into his bag. “I’ll see you later then?”

  
"Yep.“

  
As soon as BamBam was gone, Yugyeom did a full on happy dance in the back of the nonfiction section. Tonight was going to be the best night of his life.

 


	2. Part 2- Coffee Shops

Yugyeom blazed through the campus. He was overjoyed to visit BamBam, but the Green dorms were on the exact opposite side of the campus. Yugyeom couldn’t be late for his very important date. Once he was inside building two, he found the nearest stairwell and took the stairs two by two. At the second floor, he pushed open the door and scanned for room two. There it was at the end of the hallway.

  
Yugyeom used the time it took to walk there to calm himself down. His heart rate had picked up again and his cheeks were most definitely a scarlet color. He took two deep breaths, then four, then two again, which always seemed to calm him down. It didn’t. He apprehensively knocked on the door of room two.

  
No answer.

  
He knocked yet again. The door opened with a click, and BamBam stood there with a finger to his lips and a phone pressed to his ear. He was speaking some language that Yugyeom couldn’t identify. It was definitely something southeastern based off BamBam’s looks- maybe Malay or one the hundreds of Indonesian languages- but Yugyeom couldn’t be sure. He followed BamBam’s motions and sat on his bed, then watched BamBam pace back and forth in the tiny closet of a room. With a big smile, BamBam ended the call.

  
“That was my little sister, sorry.” BamBam explained, placing his phone on his desk.

  
“So you’re not Korean?” Yugyeom asked. _Of course he’s not Korean_ , _you dumbass._

  
“You couldn’t tell from the accent?” BamBam answered with a giggle. “Nah, I’m from Thailand.” Yugyeom was experiencing the greatest ah-ha moment known to mankind.

  
“Oh cool! I’ve never been, unfortunately.” Yugyeom said, scratching his forehead.

  
“Well, maybe you’ll have to visit.” BamBam said, hopefully. He pulled a clear plastic case from his closet, opened it, and revealed a bright pink roll of measuring tape. “If you could just stand and take off your shoes.”Yugyeom followed his instructions, depositing his beat up Adidas near the door. He stood, looking at BamBam’s corkboard. “Okay, just hold your arms out.”

  
As BamBam completed his measurements (quite quietly, to Yugyeom’s surprise), Yugyeom had a chance to contemplate the cork board in front of him. It was divided into four sections, each with their own themed collage. The upper right section had the word “home” pinned in the center and what Yugyeom assumed to be the Thai flag pinned above it, with a map, some family photos, and some images of notable landmarks. On the lower right, the word “inspiration” was pinned in the center and hundreds of cutout pictures, drawings, and patterns in purple, black, and white blooming around it. The lower right had “dream” in the center, with pictures of boutiques, famous labels, and expensive clothes juxtaposed against pictures of nice family homes, children, and wedding rings. Lastly, the upper left, with the gay flag in the center instead of a word. Multicolored pictures of pride parades, definitions of slang in Thai, Korean, and English, and rainbows made the corner the most obvious of the four. The entire board felt raw, as if BamBam had let his soul bleed into it.

  
“Your cork board,” Yugyeom started, unsure of how his sentence would end, “it’s,” He couldn’t find a word to describe it and his tongue was super glued to his teeth.

  
“Oh.” BamBam froze. “Yeah. It’s a lot and kinda cheesy, I don’t know why I did it, like it’s so lame.” He yammered. “Like, who actually uses their cork board, and isn’t it for, um, staying organized?” He laughed, moving in front of it to block it. The collage blended around BamBam’s frame like a holy halo of himself, his purest self.

  
Yugyeom smiled. “No, I like how raw it is. Nobody bothers to use theirs and mine has approximately two sticky notes on it from September when I promised myself to be organized. But this, no, this is art.” He shared. BamBam’s shoulders dropped like Yugyeom had just lifted a weight.

  
“Really?” He asked, his eyes big and shimmery.

  
“Yeah.” Yugyeom went over to the inspiration section. “So, purple?”

  
“It looks like it’s your color.” BamBam answered. “I guess I’ll have to add you.”

  
Yugyeom giggled. “Oh please.” He threaded a hand through his hair.

  
“Yugyeom?” BamBam moved to make another measurement. Yugyeom could feel the measuring tape against his ass, but accepted it.

  
“Yes?”

“Are you made of sugar?” BamBam swiveled back around, pulling Yugyeom in with the tape. “Because your ass is sweet.” Yugyeom knew his cheeks would be be crimson, but it didn’t matter, because he was eye to eye with one of the most handsome people he had seen. Summing up this feeling with a sentence would be hard, so Yugyeom tried his best.

  
“So, you have siblings?” Yep, he was a disaster. A flop. A failure. A wreck. He couldn’t even just take one freaking moment to relish in the fact that he could of just held his crush by the cheeks and kissed him then and there (even if they had only know each other for 48 hours). BamBam straightened himself out, leaning away from Yugyeom and turning toward the board.

  
“Yeah. So my sister,” He sounded disappointed. He pointed to a selfie, “Her name is Baby. I mean, it’s not her real name, that’s _Hataichanok_ , but in Thailand everyone uses a nickname.” He waved at another photo, with two nearly matching faces. “Then there’s my oldest brother _Sarunchai_ , or Beer, and older brother _Chindanai_ , or Bank.” He scratched the back of his neck. “They’re all really nice and I miss them loads.” He flopped on his bed with a sad sigh.

  
“They seem nice.” Yugyeom said, reusing BamBam’s words. “But what’s your name?” He sat next to BamBam, careful to duck under the overhead shelf.

  
“BamBam.” He said, unblinking. Then the light bulb blinked in his head. “ _OH_! Mine’s _Kunpimook_.”

  
Yugyeom knew he wasn’t going to say it right. “Kun-peh-muk?” He attempted.

  
“Kun- _pi_ -mook.” BamBam stressed.

  
“Gunpimook?”

  
“ _Kun_ -pi-mook.”

Something clicked in Yugyeom’s head. “ _Kunpimook_?”

  
“Yes!” BamBam smiled, “Thai sounds good coming from you.” Yugyeom could feel the burn of BamBam’s gaze on his lips. “Want to learn more?”

  
“Of course.” For another two hours, Yugyeom happily subjected himself to embarrassment and confusion as he tried to make sense of BamBam’s native language. They only stopped when Yugyeom’s roommate, Jungkook, called for the fifth time. “Yes?”

  
“ _Yugyeom_? _Oh_ _thank_ _god_.” He breathed into the phone and there was some mumbling. “ _Gyu is drunk off his ass and I can’t find my room key_ , _plus_ _it’s_ _the_ _RA’s_ _night_ _off_.” Yugyeom’s shoulders sagged.

  
_Great_.

  
“I’ll be there.” Yugyeom answered. He ended the call and looked at BamBam regretfully. Their legs had intertwined messily like a beginner’s first knit scarf and it was sad to undo it.

  
“Guess you gotta go?” He asked.  
Yugyeom nodded. “Yeah.” Another light bulb flashed in his head as he slipped on his shoes. “Want to get a coffee sometime?”

  
“Definitely.” BamBam’s answer gave Yugyeom enough energy to run home. 

 

* * *

 

  
“What drugs are you on?” Jinyoung asked, a thick eyebrow raised in suspicion. He’d just witnessed Kim Yugyeom skip gleefully across the library with an armful of two-inch thick textbooks. He was _humming_. The kid had been more than pleasant to any stranger that had walked in here and that alone was frightening.

  
Yugyeom pranced back, finishing his exercise with a huff. “Nothing!” He sang. He grabbed another pile, pivoted, and was off to re-shelve the books.

  
Jinyoung blinked at his rejection. “It has to be something!” He called across the library, instant on finding out what was literally making Yugyeom jump with joy.

  
“I thought librarians don’t yell!” He shouted from the other end. Jinyoung snorted. That was kinda funny.

  
“They certainly don’t skip around, either.” He retorted. Yugyeom was back within view, still bouncing. “You got the last few, right? I’ll go sort and you can take the front.” He turned to go.

  
“Jinyoung, wait.” Yugyeom suddenly sounded pitiful. “Actually, do you know of any cool cafés?” He was rubbing at the back of his head and his cheeks were redder than roses. “It’s,” Jinyoung just grinned.

  
“You’re going on a date, aren’t you?” He questioned, giggling. Yugyeom turned crimson.

  
“Psh, it’s not that, I just-” He played with his hands. “Just wanna check out Seoul some more.” He grinned unconvincingly.

  
Jinyoung decided to give Yugyeom his blessing. “Go to Cafe Chu. Have fun with BamBam and get some churros, ya nerd.”

 

* * *

 

  
Yugyeom was sitting in Cafe Chu with a churro and a coffee, alone. Which was fine. BamBam was only five minutes late and Yugyeom could excuse that. He could forget it happened. As it grew closer to fifteen minutes, Yugyeom was taking a bite of his lukewarm churro and staring at his phone screen. _Where was_ _BamBam_? Just as he’s about to type out a text teasing BamBam for being late, the screech of a metal chair on hardwood announces his very arrival. “Hi, gosh I’m so sorry, I…” 

  
Yugyeom didn’t even hear BamBam’s excuse. He was much too distracted by the sinfully angelic outfit BamBam had chosen: a white button up that exposed  just enough chest and a thick black choker to match. Yugyeom prayed he wasn’t drooling because Bambam was more than forgiven. “It’s fine.”

“Phew,” BamBam wiped his forehead, “I thought I’d ruined the date.” He laughed, “Looks like you’re going to need a second churro.” The pair got up and in line, debated getting heart shaped churros over the regular stick shape (general consensus was the heart churros), then sat down to enjoy deep fried heaven.   
  
“Wow.” They said simultaneously. They both laughed, smiling at each other’s being.   
  
“So, Yugyeom, tell me about your major.” BamBam prompted. He sipped at his coffee while Yugyeom described the in and outs of a dance major. Yugyeom then sparked a discussion on tattoos, which lead to a retelling of the time BamBam attempted to runaway from home, which turned into a debate on dog breeds. “Pugs are the cutest though, with all their wrinkles and they’re just designed for cuddling.” BamBam argued.   
  
“Nope, Labs are more friendly, plus they just have such a gentle demeanor.” Yugyeom refuted.   
  
“But pugs!” BamBam fought. He swung his arms out to make his point, his right hand flying straight into his cup. The paper object did a back flip as it fell to the floor, causing the top to come loose and spray it’s latte goodness everywhere. BamBam and Yugyeom looked at each other, then the floor, then back to each other. _Fuck_.

  
“I’ll get some napkins.” They shouted simultaneously again. The two split up in order to find the maximum number of napkins possible. By the time Yugyeom had made it down to the end of the cafe and back, an employee had brought out a mop and was clearing away their sugary disaster with a flustered BamBam bowing and thanking him. Yugyeom and he decided to escape after that.   
“So long, Kim Yugyeom.” BamBam said, squeezing the taller human into a hug. “Now next time, I pick the place. Somewhere without coffee, preferably.” His white shirt was now only kinda sorta white now, so Yugyeom could see where he was coming from.  
  
“Okay. Text me?” Yugyeom asked. He still had a hold on both of BamBam’s hands, unwilling to let him go.  
  
“Yes!” He promised, “And Yugyeom?”  
  
“Yes?” 

BamBam had this shit eating grin on his face. “If you were ground coffee, you would be espresso because you’re so fine!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everyone! I hope you enjoyed.


	3. Part 3- Museums

Yugyeom stared into the void of his closet, unhappy with every imaginable combo that could come out of it. Since BamBam had essentially looked like a god at their last date, Yugyeom was taking it upon himself to not just wear a t-shirt and jeans.

He pulled out a blue turtleneck and matching blue trench coat that his brother's girlfriend had so kindly gifted him this past Christmas. They just didn't seem right though. He laid out another option: black button up, black jeans, and a tiger patterned bomber jacket. _Nope_. He looked over to his roommate who was boredly playing on his phone. "What do you wear on a date?" Yugyeom asked with a sigh.

"I'm calling the boys." Jungkook answered, hitting a few buttons on his phone.

"No you're not." Yugyeom didn't need more of Jungkook's friends involved. "Don't-"

Jungkook only sneered. "Yugyeom's having an outfit crisis." His smile grew. "Yes, that would be great." Within another two minutes Kim Namjoon, Park Jimin, and Kim Taehyung were waltzing into their tiny room. "Hey guys!"

"So where're we headed?" Namjoon questioned, sliding open the door of Yugyeom's closet. "Out with friends? Studying? A _date_?" He elbowed Yugyeom in the side.

Yugyeom grew red. "Yep! He's going out to the student art exhibit." Jungkook replied for him. Yugyeom was going to have to kill him later.

"Ah." Namjoon put his finger to his lips in thought. He bent his brows. "Oh! Here!" Within another five minutes, Yugyeom was admiring himself in the mirror.

"It's stunning."

"It's gorgeous."

"It's perfect."

"I'd fuck him."

"TAE!" They all gasped. The third oldest only shrugged.

"What?" He wasn't wrong. The turtleneck and leather jacket combo was, well, _sexy_ , but managed to seem museum appropriate. Yugyeom found himself flaunting in the mirror. "See, he loves it." Taehyung argued, waving to Yugyeom.

"I do look good." Yugyeom said. "Really good."

At exactly 11:57, there was a knock at the door. Since it's nearly impossible to get Jungkook's friends out of their room, all four of them perked up in excitement. Yugyeom's heart rate picked up. Maybe it would be BamBam on the other side, three minutes early. Instead, a coffee-carrying, sweater-wearing Mingyu stood at the door. "Why are you all staring? Did I spill?"

"Nope, watched you walk all the way up the stairs." There was a familiar voice. Mingyu turned around, revealing a bomber jacket clad BamBam holding two cups of coffee. "Too bad I had the same idea."

"I thought you said no coffee." Yugyeom said, cursing the carrier.

"Don't worry, it's only tea!" BamBam reassured, selecting one of the pair and giving it to Yugyeom. "I wasn't sure what you liked, so I got my favorite citrus mint one." Yugyeom accepted it, the warmth spread from his hands to his heart. He took a sip. The chill of the mint layered just perfectly with tangy notes of lemon, totally reinventing what tea should be.

"Oh my god." Yugyeom exclaimed. "This-"

"Yeah. It's great. Since we're coffee free I decided that you _had_ to try it." BamBam agreed, his head nodding as he took a sip of his own drink. "Also, you're a hot-tea."

Yugyeom spat his tea, misting himself with a good coating of the liquid. His cheeks were hot, not only because of the accident, but because the compliment was a cleverly constructed pun.

"That was cute." Jimin cooed. He was only two years older than Yugyeom but acted like he was ten years older. Only then did it occur to him that he and BamBam were standing in the hallway, being watched by a small collection of Yugyeom's friends. Jimin beamed at them from his front row spot.

Yugyeom rolled his eyes. "Let me, um, change."

 

* * *

 

They walked over to the arts building, and BamBam immediately began apologizing that they weren't headed to somewhere nicer. "We're both broke college students," He explained, "I spent the last of my money on the tea that you so willingly shot out your nose."

"You just laid that pun and compliment down like it was nothing!" Yugyeom raised his arms in mock offense. "How was I supposed to react?"

"Definitely not by coating the Green dorm's third floor in citrus mint tea." BamBam laughed. They stepped into the main arts hall, where the entire first floor was an exhibit of various student works. As long as you had a student ID and promised to write feedback on at least one piece, you could get in for free. It was enough for Yugyeom. They took their tickets from a girl with long, blue hair and a gentle smile.

"Here's your feedback slips! Just drop them in the box at the end." She instructed, handing them two small, neon green strips of paper.

They entered the exhibit and found that they were alone, save for a single professor. The man had his sleeves rolled all the way to his elbows, a five o'clock shadow, and a frown on his face. Clearly buried in thought, he jumped when he turned and saw Yugyeom and BamBam. "Oh, hi!" He shouted. "Would you two come over and look at this?" He gestured to a series of drawings. "I'm not sure what to think. My student did these drawings of his girlfriend while high and now everyone thinks he's the next Picasso."

A bird-woman with wings sprouting from her back and golden, windswept hair peered back at them. She became more whimsical and color soaked with each drawing. The second to last one depicted her as merely a blob of colors; the final one returned her to her true form: a girl in a blue sweater. "These are so pretty." BamBam commented. "It shows how warped our world can be with just one small change. Like, a total reality shift. Is what we see just an affect of the oxygen we breathe?"

How beautiful.

"Thanks. Name?" The professor asked.

"BamBam." He answered. "I'm a fashion design student. And this is Kim Yugyeom,"

"Dance major." Yugyeom said, filling in the blank.

The professor smiled. "I'll have your feedback strips waived then. Enjoy the art guys!" He walked off, fixing his hair in the process.

The two looked at each, back to the bird-woman, then at each other. "What was that?" Yugyeom asked.

"Bullshitting." BamBam answered. They both laughed at this, cackling until their lungs hurt.

"Shall we do more?" And for the rest of the afternoon, Yugyeom and BamBam practiced their most profound bullshitting. They turned vinyl food recreations into existential reflections on childhood and paint splattered canvases into the Mona Lisa. Then, a single painting of two guys holding hands caught Yugyeom off guard. _The_ _Hold_ , as it was titled, totally stopped his snarky comments. It genuinely belonged in a museum.

The guys in the painting were made of carefully painted flowers. Blue bells made up one guy's shirt; their faces were sunflowers. Yugyeom instantly felt himself drowning in the painting. His eyes wanted to eat up every inch of it. "This," he started.

"I know." replied BamBam. They stood in complete silence for a moment. When Yugyeom looked back to see BamBam's reaction, he noticed BamBam's eyes weren't in the painting, but him.

Did Yugyeom have a stain somewhere? "What?"

"A complete masterpiece is looking at a painting."

Yugyeom's heart dissolved. The usual pick up lines were fine, but this one hit him like a punch. 3, 2, 1, knock out! Yugyeom was definitely down. "You-"

"Yes? I acknowledged how handsome and wonderful you are by comparing you to your new favorite painting?" BamBam asked, smiling. Yugyeom kinda wanted to punch and kinda wanted to kiss him.

"Did you take me here just so you could say that?"

"No, of course not." BamBam aggressively shook his head. "I definitely don't plan dates around what compliments I can give my boyfriends."

  
An alarm started going off in Yugyeom's head: _HE SAID BOYFRIEND. HE SAID BOYFRIEND. HE SAID BOYFRIEND. HE SAID-_

"I know I said boyfriend, it's probably a little early but,"

Yugyeom cut him off, "Yes!" He realized just how loudly he'd just shouted. "I mean, yes, I would totally be your boyfriend." He covered his face with both his hands, wanting to hide his embarrassment. His smile hurt.

"Great," BamBam laughed and Yugyeom realized how much he was in love with his laugh and the breathy, squeakiness of it and the way BamBam's face lit up and how his nose crinkled. They turned back to the painting and gasped at the same time.

"IT'S ON SALE!" They said stimultaneously.

"How much ramen money can you sacrifice?" Yugyeom asked. It was only 25,000 won, but they were in a free exhibit for a reason.

BamBam shrugged. "Whatever it takes to get this." He pulled his wallet out and emptied it into his hand: 10,000 won and a couple of coins. Yugyeom did the same. Together they had 23,000 won and would go lunch less for a couple of weeks. When they went to the front to ask, the girl laughed and said the artist just wanted someone to take it. All in all, this date was a win.

As they walked back, they decided BamBam could have the painting on grounds of not having a single roommate to possibly ruin it. Departing at his dorm, BamBam hugged Yugyeom as tightly as he could. Yugyeom could feel his heart melting. The minute the hug broke, he missed it.

"See you!" BamBam shouted from the entrance door. "Text me, okay?"

"I will!" Yugyeom shouted back. "Bye, Bam!" He then returned his dorm, alone but not lonely.

Upon arrival, he was bombarded by questions from Jungkook and the boys (who, unfortunately, had stayed for the whole two hours Yugyeom was gone and left Cheeto dust on his comforter). "How was is Yugyeommie?"

"What did you do?"

"He's smiling guys! That has to mean something!"

"Look at his blush, isn't he cute?"

"How's BamBam?"

"Why didn't you tell us he was cute before he came up here?"

"Now he's really blushing guys!"

Yugyeom just laughed at their sudden interest. He sat on the edge of his bed (he was _not_ getting cheeto dust on his jacket. What heathens.) and shrugged. "I'm good, BamBam is good. We even got a painting for free."

"Any other details, Yugs?" Namjoon asked.

"He's-" Yugyeom's big smile was impeding his speech. "We are a couple now."

Jimin gasped. "No way!" And the questions kept rolling.

* * *

 

Unsure of ever getting himself to stop smiling like some idiot, Yugyeom knew he had to get BamBam back with at least one pick up line. There was only one other person as masterful at the art of cringe:

Jackson Wang.

Yugyeom began typing his message.

_Yugyeom: Hey Jackson! So I need some help_

_Jackson: Ooooh~ With what?_

_Yugyeom: Remember that guy I told you about with the pickup lines?_

_Jackson: Mhm_

_Yugyeom: Well he's my boyfriend now and I NEED to get back at him with one. Do you have any ideas?_

_Jackson: I may have a few_

For another whole hour, they debated the merits of puns, what topics would be appropriate, and if it should even be sexual. By the end, they had a masterpiece.

_Jackson: It's beautiful_

_Yugyeom: What a work of art, thank you_

He then switched over and texted BamBam.

_Yugyeom: Hey, could we hang out at your dorm tomorrow?_

_BamBam: I'd love that!_

_Yugyeom: Great! Good night Bam!_

_BamBam: Good night Yugyeommie!_

Yugyeom shut off his phone, completely content with what was to come. He fell asleep peacefully.

* * *

 

Yugyeom was freaking out. His hands were shaking, his heart was pounding, and he was sweating like it was the middle of July. He wasn't even sure he would have the guts to knock on BamBam's door. But then he was, his fist against a solid sheet of wood to the beat of his heart. BamBam opened the door.

"Oh hey Yugyeom! Jackson's here because he had a warning?"

Fifty hundred panic alarms went off in Yugyeom's head. They were telling him to turn around and run. He couldn't do this to BamBam; he couldn't say this pickup line without some mood.

There sat Jackson, a shit eating grin on his face. "Hey Yugyeom!" He cheered as a greeting.

"So I heard that there's a certain pickup line you want to tell me?" BamBam asked, an eyebrow raised in challenge.

That's when it clicked in Yugyeom's head. What he and Jackson had planned wasn't the perfect pickup line. Nope, there was something much better for BamBam. "Yes, actually." Yugyeom walked up and grabbed hold of BamBam's shirt, pulling his face closer and closer until their lips locked.

For a second, BamBam froze, shocked. His eyes asked fifty questions. Then he smiled, leaning into it, and pulled Yugyeom closer, accepting it. All Yugyeom could focus on was how soft BamBam's lips were and how he had no idea what he was doing and how- _oh my god is that a tongue?_

It wasn't very romantic to say the least. When Yugyeom couldn't breathe anymore and they knocked noses for the thousandth time, he pulled back. "Sorry, I didn't know what to-"

Arms still around Yugyeom's neck, BamBam met Yugyeom's eyes and smiled. "It was more than fine Yugyeom. I think we just need more practice."

Yep, Yugyeom's cheeks were red and hot. He was completely flustered, but it was fine.


End file.
